A Secret Never Known
by thewizardandi1424
Summary: Told from the POV of Sydney's teenage sister, Abby. What happens when Abby gets caught up in the spy world. Will she remain faithful to her sister and APO? Or will her mother pull her back over to their side? Who knows? Reviewers get cookies
1. Out of the Shadows

1The sound of dripping water woke me from an unpleasant sleep. Actually I'd probably been more unconscious then I was asleep. The first thing that hit me was how cold I was. Jeans and tank top didn't make for a very warm pair, especially when they were wet. My right hand moved to brush the hair off my face but it didn't get very far. I couldn't see what was binding me to the chair I sat in but gut feeling told me it wasn't something I could get out of easily. Both of my wrists as well as my ankles were bound tightly enough that I couldn't struggle against them. The pain on my forehead indicated some sort of injury, probably inflicted for the purpose of knocking me out. Other then that, the only thing I could feel injured was my pride. This was exactly the situation I'd trained for years to keep myself out of and yet, here I was. My head had bent down in my unconsciousness and my neck cracked painfully several times as I rose it back up to glance at my surroundings. The room was pitch black and I couldn't tell if my eyes were even open or closed. Besides my own breathing, there wasn't a single sound in the room and I was getting a bit nervous. Suddenly I heard something else coming out of the darkness to accompany my breathing. It was the last thing I wanted to hear, footsteps. Without warning an overhead light flicked on and my eyes were to slow adjusting to its' brightness. As quickly as I could I shut my eyes and snapped my neck away in an attempt to save my vision. A cold hand lifted my cheek back towards the light and I was careful to keep my closed.

"Ms. Bristow, welcome to the my home."

The voice was tinted with chinese so I could assume that the man who spoke to me was foreign. His english was flawless though so I stole a look at him, catching sight of tanned skin.

"It's quite cozy"

He laughed at my comment and sat on a stool next to me. By now my eyes had adjusted to the sudden light and I could look fully at him. I had been right, the man was chinese. He looked young, though the light could have distorted his appearance. Reaching back out of my sight I heard a loud rattle as a tray was wheeled over beside his stool. Though there was no way of knowing for sure, I though I could feel the color drain from my face. The tray held only two contents; a large syringe and a bottle of light green fluid, Rambaldi fluid no doubt. I'd seen what that fluid had done to people before, it was horrible to watch. Something in that green fluid triggered a chemical reaction in the body that caused severe anger and cannibalism. The man only laughed again as he watched my face.

"As we speak Ms. Bristow, hundreds of people in the town of Sovogda are drinking this in their water supply."

I knew how serious this situation was and my face fell into a deep frown. That mean that anyone who drank the water would become intoxicated with that disease. What I realized was even worse, was that my father, sister, and several other APO members were in the air on their way to Sovogda. They'd be in serious danger and not know it until they hit the ground. My head dropped back down as I realized that my family was going to get attacked by cannibals. The man's hand found my chin and moved to lift it but I shoved my head to the side to avoid his contact.

"Sloane..."

The name shot from my lips like a bullet as I spoke it. It was all that man's fault really, him and his stupid obsession with Rambaldi. The chinese man laughed again and nodded his head as if he were agreeing with me.

"Yes I must admit Arvin had a large part in the plan. He's quite a dedicated man you know."

As he said this, I looked back up, anger written across my face. I wasted no time in tossing back my own opinion of the man.

"He's a bastard."

It was the truth as plain and simple I as could get it. This time though the man didn't agree with me, though his expression remained sickening confident.

"It won't matter what you think of him, because in a few minutes you'll think of everyone that way. You see Abby, surely you must be familiar with his little vial and what it does. You must also know how a needle can be used to place this liquid inside the body. And when these two things come together, we both know the consequences."

I knew what he was threatening to do and it worried me but I didn't let it show. My father hadn't taught me nothing in the year or so I'd spent with him. Keeping a cool face was key in any bad situation. It was all a part of that damn manuscript that only the most desperate of people believed in. Drawn on one of the pages was a picture of my sister and written in latin around it was a prediction of the future. It read the pictures woman had been chosen to fulfill a prophecy. When it was completed, this "chosen one" must be gotten rid of for a new world to emerge. Everyone, whether they believed it or not, couldn't deny that Sydney was pictured. No one knew how a 15th century prophet could possibly have drawn my sister but you couldn't deny the resemblance. We always figured that the people who actually believed in this would try to kill Sydney on one of her missions. As hard as we'd worked to protect her, they'd come dangerously close to succeeding a few times. What no one knew though, was what, or rather who, was meant to kill her. My thoughts were interrupted by the man's voice.

"Thank to Arvin, we've discovered a vital part of the prophecy that is unknown to your APO team. The identity of Sydney Bristow's killer has finally been revealed."

As he finished, he just smiled at me in a way that could be taken in one way. Screw my father's teachings, my face dropped in horror. It was me. I was meant to kill my own sister! I shook my head firmly, there was no way I was going to believe that.

"Were you pleased with your results?"

He nodded in response, that same smile still on his face.

"Very much so. And now you know why you're here then."

They were going to turn me into a cannibal so I would be forced to kill Sydney. I struggled to comprehend this and keep my breathing even. This time when the man laughed, another voice joined him and I recognized it. My fists clenched and I glared at the dark space where more laughter was coming from. As the face appeared in the light, I frowned deeply at it as it spoke.

"I hope you understand that we're doing this to protect everyone Abby."


	2. Infected

1**Authors Note: I do not and never will own anything relating to Alias. Every character but 1 belongs to Mr. Abrams EXCEPT for Abby Bristow, who belongs to me.**

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Arvin Sloane appeared on my opposite side and just the sight of him made me feel sick.

"So turning me into a cannibal with your precious fluid is going to help everyone out?"

My tone was a mix between sarcasm and seriousness. I couldn't believe he actually thought that. Arvin nodded in a simple response to my question.

"Exactly, once your job is complete the world can be reborn again and we knew you wouldn't do it on your own so we decided to help out a bit, give you slight nudge in the right direction if you know what I mean."

I spat at his foot and didn't have time to react before his open palm connected with the side of my face. My neck snapped to the side and my head began to throb painfully.

"You will respect me Abby. I tolerated your sister only because your father was there. She's lucky he never left."

With my head still tilted to the side I smirked, not able to keep myself from laughing even in this dark moment.

"She would have kicked your ass and you know it."

Again his palm hit my face and I felt the skin break painfully apart. A soft groan fell out of my mouth but I slowly raised my head back up. This was what I'd been trained to endure, it was my expertise.

"Do keep in mind Abby that we are alone here; daddy's not here to save you."

I laughed again and looked Mr. Sloane in the eye, not afraid of him or his punishments.

"Daddy wouldn't even both kicking your ass, he'd just pull out his gun and shoo-"

My words were cut off as I ducked down to avoid another slap. The chinese man had been still throughout this but he moved now, grabbing my head and jerking it quickly forward. It was easy to see that this man was more easily angered then I had thought. The man looked urgently to Sloane.

"Arvin, we have to do it now."

But Mr. Sloane just shook his head once more.

"No, it's to soon. The fluid moves fast, don't worry."

The man gruffly let go of my head and I shot him a glare.

"I'm not going to kill Sydney and you know it."

Sloane laughed at my remark and shook his head as if he didn't believe me.

"You don't have a choice in the matter Abby. Rambaldi chose you and you can't refuse destiny."

I rolled my eyes at his comment and immediately began to mimic him.

"Destiny huh? And what if, on the off chance that I really am in your prophecy, your stupid fluid won't work on me?"

He motioned towards the chinese man who came forward and grabbed my head once again. It was bent down so the fleshy part of my neck was revealed. I could hear the sound of clinking metal beside me but couldn't see due to my hair which had fallen down infront of my eyes. Cursing silently I struggled against my captors, though the combined factors of the man and my wrist restraints were to much. My hair dangled as I moved around and I caught a quick glimpse of the green vial in the air. So they were really going to do it then, inject me with that crap so I'd have to kill Sydney. I gulped as I felt the cold needle pressing against my neck.

"You shouldn't worry Abby, just do your job my dear."

I screamed as the needle was pushed into my neck. It was pain greater then I'd ever felt before and tears began to flow freely out of my eyes. The liquid moved through my body quickly and I screamed again as I felt myself changing. I felt angry at everything and my fists clenched. My eyes had long since been closed and when I opened them, a red tint had distorted their coloration. Sloane smiled at me and walked back into the darkness. A patch of light appeared and I heard the footsteps return. The chinese man was motioned away from me and only Mr. Sloane remained next to me.

"Good luck Abby."

I heard Mr. Sloane exit as well now and as I thrashed around, I felt my restraints loosen until they were non-existent. Without thinking I jumped forward out of the chair and ran towards the open door.


	3. Touching Down

1**Author's Note: Now I must point out that in this chapter, the POV changes somewhat. It is now being told from 3****rd**** person POV, and then it switches back to Abby's. Whenever I use the symbol "...", that means that the POV is changing. I would greatly appreciate reviewers and constructive criticism.** **I'm working on making my chapters longer so bear with me on that :)**

Several miles away Sydney Bristow opened her parachute as she neared the ground. A few other people followed suit around her and as they landed, her mind when to her younger sister. Abby had been left back in Los Angeles where she went to school. After all, Sydney only planned to be gone a few days, probably no more than three, maybe four at the most. Abby could handle herself for that long, Sydney was confident of that. Still, call it an older sister intuition if you wanted, but Sydney always worried when she had to leave. As she gathered her parachute up, the rest of the team landed around her. Jack Bristow landed beside her and was getting rid of his own parachute when his cellphone rang. He popped it open and held it to his ear, still unstrapping his parachute with his free hand as he answered it.

"Yes?"

His face was unreadable as always and Sydney continued to unstrap herself from her chute. Weiss and Vaughn landed nearby as well and Sydney shot her fiancé a quick smile before looking back at her father.

"Yes it is."

A few more moments of silence passed before he responded again.

"No I was not. Are you sure?"

Sydney could tell by her father's voice that something was up, but that usually the case with Jack.

"Ok, thank you."

He hung up and snapped the phone shut, walking the few feet over to where Sydney was standing. She turned to face him, her eyes narrowing a bit.

"What is it?"

Jack was visibly worried about something and Sydney waited for him to respond. Pocketing his cellphone he looked grimly at his eldest daughter.

"That was Mrs. Brown. Apparently Abby hasn't been in school the past two days."

Sydney frowned deeply, feeling her worries confirmed. Abby wasn't one to miss school for anything. It was odd that she hadn't been in class unless something had happened. She bit back the thought and pulled out her own phone.

"I'll try her at home, maybe she's sick."

It was a well known fact that Sydney and Abby were close sisters. The ten years between them didn't seem to matter to either of them. When Abby had showed up four years ago infront of the APO office, no one had any idea of what to do with her. DNA testing had revealed her heritage, much to the surprise of Jack and Sydney. She had moved in the Sydney shortly after and the two had been close ever since. She quickly dialed the number and held it to her ear. It stayed there for a few seconds until she cursed and hung up.

"No answer."

Jack thought for a moment before responding. This was a position he'd never been in before. He had to destroy the Rambaldi artifact, that was why he had come here in the first place. But he also had a daughter who was currently missing. For Jack, this was a hard choice. He'd never let his personal life interfere with his job. Luckily before he spoke, Sydney had made up her mind.

"I'm going to see if I can find her. Take Weiss and Vaughn and disassemble the device, they know how."

Jack nodded briefly, glad he wasn't having to chose between his daughter and his job. Without another word Sydney turned around, cellphone still in her hand. She had to find out where Abby was... It took me a few minutes to adjust to seeing in red but soon enough I was sprinting through the streets of the city with one thing on my mind. Anyone who got in my way had to be gotten rid of. I wasn't sure what was giving me all this extra energy but I'd been sprinting for several miles now with no indication of tiring. The giant red Rambaldi ball was floating above my head, tainting the city below it with a blood red color. It almost seemed to guide me towards my destination, wherever that was. Movement up ahead of me caught my eye and I rushed towards it, eager for my first kill. As I rounded the corner of the building, a man stood on the sidewalk. He was dressed in SWAT team gear minus the head mask and appeared to recognize me.

"Abby Bristow? What are you doing here?"

I didn't respond even though I couldn't if I had wanted to. All I knew was that this man, whoever he was, had to go. He pulled a radio from his belt and spoke into it.

"This is Agent Jones, I'm on the street with Agent Bristow and -"

It was all I let him get out before I lunged forward and wrapped my hands around his neck. It was only a moment later that his head fell to the side and he collapsed on the ground dead. Feeling as though I had accomplished something, I continued on down the sidewalk, not aware of anything out infront of me except that there were people out there who needed to go... Sydney had been putting her own gear on when Agent Jones's message came over her radio. Agent Bristow? She looked around, realizing that she wasn't anywhere near Jones. Did that mean Abby was here? Sydney pulled her radio off and spoke urgently into it.

"This is Phoenix, can I have your location Bobcat?"

All agents at APO had call signs to identify themselves. It varied between agents but most had animal names. She waited a minute before asking the same question again. When she still didn't get a response she threw the rest of her gear on and began to run down the street, radio still in hand.

"Bobcat do you copy?"

The radio remained silent but Sydney heard the echo of her message somewhere around where she was. Turning the corner she saw a body laying on the sidewalk. She ran over towards it and knelt down beside the man. It was Jones, and it was quite obvious that he was dead.

"This is Phoenix, I need a medic unit for an agent down!"

She actually got a response this time from the control center.

"Copy that Phoenix, we're getting your location now."

She nodded and took Jones's radio from his belt. It was always hard to lose an agent like this and Sydney looked over his body for an injury. The only obvious thing was the fact that his neck appeared to be broken. No gunshot wounds were visible though it was dark and she couldn't see all that well. Moments later three agents showed up from the around the corner and crouched down beside her. Sydney turned to question one of them.

"Was I correct in hearing that Fawkes was with him when he radioed?"

One of the agents looked up to respond to Sydney's question.

"Yeah, I heard that transmission as well."

Slowly she raised back up to a standing position. Abby was out there somewhere and whatever had killed Jones had taken her. Tucking her radio back onto her belt she took off in a sprint down the street... The sound of running footsteps up ahead of me caught my attention and I stopped walking to listen. A familiar figure burst around the corner of a building, fidgeting with her radio. It was Sydney, the number one target in my mind. As she looked up from her radio, our eyes met. Immediately her hand flew back to her radio which had been hooked on her belt.

"Dad?"

Her voice held a worried tone as she spoke into her radio. Almost immediately I heard my father's voice echo back.

"What is it Phoenix?"

He sounded a bit nervous as well, probably feeding off of the sound of worry in Sydney's voice. Slowly I walked forward, watching with a pleased expression as she backed up. Super agent Sydney Bristow was afraid of me! Her eyes never left mine as she spoke again.

"It's Abby dad...she's been infected!"


	4. Take One or Leave Both

1**A/N: And here comes the drama! Again watch for the POV changes. I also use some lines and scenes from a certain episode of Alias, though I have changed a few details. I credit Mr. Abrams with those lines.**

**Disclaimer: I do not and never will own anything relating to Alias except for my character, Abby, who does belong to me.**

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The words rang through my head as she spoke them and only worked to anger me more. I stepped forward at a faster pace now but she continued to back away. Jacks' voice crackled over the radio again.

"Sydney listen to me, you're going to have to shoot her."

But she shook her head quickly, refusing to do it.

"I can't dad, she's my sister!"

I could tell by the tone of Jack's voice that he was frustrated with Sydney's stubbornness.

"She's not your sister anymore, you have to do it."

Sydney didn't respond into her radio but kept her eyes locked onto mine. There was a pleading tone in her voice as she spoke, and this time her words were directed at me.

"Please Abby, it's me. It's Sydney."

I wasn't going to be swayed by her words though, and continued to walk forward. Then without much warning I burst into a sprint, my eyes focused on my target. Sydney hadn't been expecting my sudden movement and so was caught slightly off-guard. In a flash I had a wire around her neck and pulled back against it with all my strength. I could hear her choking and a smile lifted the corners of my mouth. My job was almost done here, only a few more seconds and she'd be gone. My attention was focused so much on Sydney that I didn't hear the footsteps behind me. A gunshot fired and I immediately dropped the wire from my hands. Sydney fell forward, coughing and clutching her throat, obviously struggling to catch her breath. I was having problems of my own now though, as the bullet pierced my back. Falling to the side I began to tremble, blood beginning to drip down from my wound. Jack lowered his gun and rushed to Sydney's side, helping her up before turning on me. My breath came in shaky gasps but at least I was still alive. Jack bent down and picked me up, knowing I wouldn't have enough strength to fight against him. Sydney was still rubbing her neck but followed her father up the street. I was slumped against Jack and my eyes fluttered open briefly as we walked. After a moment my eyes shut again... Sydney had never felt more worried in her life. She should have never let Abby stay home for that long. As she watched her little sister fight for every breath, an overwhelming feeling of guilt washed over her. They were at the command post now, awaiting a transport for Abby. Reaching her hand out she brushed a strand of hair off of her sister's face.

"I'm so sorry Abby."

Jack glanced over at his daughters, conflicted with emotions. He'd had to shoot his own daughter in order to save Sydney. After all, as hard as it was for him to admit, he was closer to his first born. Sydney had lived with him all her life while Abby had been raised by her, Irina Derevko. Jack had always resented that woman, even after she'd given him two beautiful daughters. It would just take some time for him to bond with Abby as much as he had with Sydney. Standing slowly he walked to where they were, stopping at Sydney's side.

"She'll pull through this Syd."

She looked up gravely at Jack's words, wanting so badly to agree with him. Anyone at the agency who'd ever been shot and survived it could tell you it wasn't an easy thing to get over.

"I know she will."

Sydney's words were soft but spoken in a strong tone. She believed in Abby, but the situation was looking pretty grim. The sound of helicopter blades broke the silence of the command center and a minute later it landed on the street. Several paramedics jumped out of it and jogged towards the small group. They back-boarded Abby and covered the wound with gauze to keep the pressure on it. Jack and Sydney stepped back as she was loaded in. There was still work to be done here but Sydney had a nagging feeling that there was an ulterior motive to Abby being infected. Her sister wasn't even supposed to be here in the first place and a flash of worry shot through her again. Or was it anger? Sloane and his damn prophecy was behind this whole thing! He was here in the city, or at least he had been. Sloane was the only person who would do such a thing to Abby. Turning to Jack she clenched her fists.

"He's here dad, Sloane."

Jack nodded in agreement, having already figured out that Sloane would do something like this.

"I know, but we have more important things to do now then run after him."

As badly as Sydney wanted to fight against her father's words, she couldn't. He was right, and as much as she wanted to, going after Sloane was out of the question. Turning away Sydney looked up at the giant red ball floating above the city. They had to disarm that ball in order to halt Sloane's Rambaldi search. It was something that had to be done in order to stop that maniac. Vaughn and Weiss were working as they spoke to dismantle the ball. Any minute now it would fall apart and send of wave of water crashing down from the sky. When that happened, Sydney was supposed to be in the air to help extract them from the roof of the building. She wasn't ready to leave yet but the helicopter was en route and there was no time to waste. Vaughn and Weiss didn't know about Abby for their radios had been turned off to avoid detection. Jack looked up as the sound of blades approached the city. A large helicopter landed in the street a block or so away and everyone from the command post rushed with their things towards it. After piling in and locating the building, they took off. Sydney sat near the back, her mind still on Abby. The infection didn't have a known cure and there hadn't been any survivors from it. She'd be trapped in that aggressive trance until one of two things happened. Either she'd come out of it by some miracle, or she wouldn't make it through at all. But Sydney refused to let that happen, she wouldn't lose her sister. A jar in the seats told her they'd landed on the rooftop of the building and door was slid open. Vaughn and Weiss jumped in as they lifted off, the ball flooded the town. Sydney turned her head away, sure that if she looked down, she'd see hundreds of infected people drowning below them. Vaughn slid into the seat next to her and she leaned into him.

"Abby's hurt."

Vaughn's worried expression prompted her to continue.

"Sloane brought her here and infected her so she'd come after me. She almost succeeded but my dad, he shot her in the back to keep her from killing me."

A tear leaked from her eye and he brushed it away.

"She'll be alright Syd, Abby's a strong person."

Sydney nodded, knowing it was true. Why hadn't she listened to her gut feeling and brought her sister along with them? And now Abby was hurt and things weren't looking good yet. Sighing softly she leaned against Vaughn's shoulder and shut her eyes. In a moment she was asleep and luckily, it was a dreamless one.


	5. In the Hospital

1A/N: Sorry for the wait between updates, it's been a long week with exams and such. But it's summer now so I should have more time to write.

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Several long hours later Sydney sat in a cold plastic chair in the hospital lobby. Abby had been in surgery for a little over two hours now but by this time, Sydney had lost track of time. The illuminated neon clock on the wall read 3:17 a.m., long past her usual bed time. The hospital was a ghost town minus the occasional nurse making her rounds. Jack had tried to convince Sydney to get some rest when the plane landed back in L.A. but she'd refused. Though she could have used the rest, Abby needed her more now. Her eyes stayed open only to several cups of coffee that she'd had earlier. As she began to lose her battle against sleep, footsteps entered the lobby next to her. Sydney lifted her head slowly towards where a doctor clad in one of those white robes stood next to her chair.

"Ms. Bristow?"

Sydney nodded, shifting around in her chair to face the man who spoke to her.

"Yes, how's Abby?"

His grim expression made her cringe and instantly she felt more worried.

"We've removed the bullet from her back and she's in recovery now. Luckily none of her vital organs were pierced but it did chip a part of her spine. It'll take several months for it to heal properly, I don't see her leaving here anytime soon."

She nodded in understanding and was thankful that physically, Abby would be alright. Mentally curing her would be a lot harder though and that was what worried Sydney now.

"Thank you, may I see her?"

The doctor nodded and turned around to point out the correct room.

"Yes, first room on the right. We'll have to keep her in a medically induced coma until a cure for her condition can be found. We can't risk her waking up with that infection."

Sydney smiled her thanks and walked past him towards Abby's room. Opening the door slowly she entered, walking with a cautious step towards her sister. In the silence of the dawn, the sound of the many machines echoed around the room. A similar looking chair sat on the side of her bed and Sydney sat in it, blinking away a few small tears. It wasn't anyone's fault but Sloane and Sydney made a mental note to kill the bastard the next time she saw him. He'd hurt her too many times to get away unharmed from it all. Reaching out she held onto Abby's hand, leaning against the side of her bed.

"We did it Abby, we destroyed the artifact."

It felt odd talking to her usually animated sister and not getting a response from her. The silence was broken only by the ringing of Sydney's cellphone. She pulled it out of her bag and popped it open.

"Hello?"

The voice on the other side made Sydney want to hang up immediately but something made her stay on the line.

"Hello Sydney, how are you?"

She bit back her tongue as Arvin Sloane's voice came over the line and looked over at Abby. Holding the phone up to one of the machines, she let the persistent beeping be her response. After several long moments of this, she placed the phone back to her ear.

"What do you know, we're both still alive."

Her tone was as sarcastic as she could get it to emphasize her point. On the other end of the line, she could hear Sloane moving about and people talking in the background. She thought about hanging up again but he spoke before she could.

"Yes well, that won't be for long I'm afraid."

Sydney's eyes narrowed a bit and she looked cautiously around, half expecting to see someone behind her. When she didn't, her heart rate only sped up.

"Listen to me you son of a bitch! You've been a plague on my life and I'm tired of it! I'm tired of your damn prophecy and I promise you, the next time we meet, my face will be the last thing you see on this earth!"

Her tone had grown from quiet complaining to angry shouting. Quickly she silenced herself before someone outside heard her and stood from her chair, now pacing around the room.

"Unfortunately Sydney, I doubt that either you or Abby will survive long enough to follow through with that promise. Now her death will be a regrettable one, but yours is a necessity to human kind."

Though he couldn't see her, Sydney still frowned at his comment.

"Neither of us will go before you do."

The threat was tossed back to him in a serious tone but she knew that as of now, there wasn't a whole lot she could do. After pacing for a moment, Sydney sat back down in the chair beside Abby's bed. She was still trying to think about something she could do when Sloane spoke again.

"But I have a business arrangement for you Sydney. Abby is the only one who can kill you according to Rambaldi. My deal is, wake her up and let her kill you. And the minute your dead body is sent to me, I'll cure her condition, you have my word."

Sydney's mind began to whirl with ideas on how to get out of this a winner. Being dead certainly didn't qualify as winning to her. Besides, what proof did she have that once she was dead, Sloane wouldn't just kill Abby anyway?

"I'll consider it and let you know."

That seemed to be the only acceptable answer she could give him now without obligating herself.

"Good to heart, this time tomorrow I'll call expecting an answer."

Feeling as though the conversation was over, Sydney snapped her phone shut and collapsed back into her chair, suddenly feeling overwhelmingly exhausted. She had a chance to save Abby from she had thought was an incurable disease. Sloane may not even have a cure though, there was no guarantee he would keep his word. Reaching out she leaned against Abby's bed again, entwining her fingers with Abby's.

"I won't let him take you from me."


	6. Forming the Plan

1A/E: Finally a quick update! I'm going to do the POV changes differently to make them more easily understandable for my loverly reviewers :) Enjoy!

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"Sydney?"

The voice behind her was familiar but still scared her and she jumped out of her chair. Spinning she saw her father standing in the doorway, his hand still on the knob of the door.

"Is everything alright? I heard you talking..."

Quickly she covered up her surprise, brushing it off as fast as she could.

"Oh yeah, I was just talking to Abby."

Jack didn't seem to buy into Sydney's story and a skeptical look fell upon his face.

"You're awfully pale."

Again she ignored the fact that he was probably right and merely sat back down in the chair.

"You scared me, that's all. And it's just weird seeing her like this."

Finally he seemed to accept this answer and nodded in agreement, moving so that he now stood on the opposite side of Abby's bed.

"I know, she's never one to lay around do nothing."

For a moment Sydney considered telling him about her call from Sloane. Maybe he could help her think of some ideas on how to get the cure for Abby without ending up dead. Jack seemed to notice her silence, something that only prompted another look of concern from him.

"Sydney do you honestly think that I don't know something's wrong?"

The question caught her by surprise and she fumbled around for an acceptable answer.

"Nothing's wrong dad, really."

Sydney wasn't sure if denying it would do her any good or not, but it was worth a try. Apparently her words hadn't moved him all that much, for his expression remained the same.

"And over 30 years of experience with liars, and 26 years of experience with you teaches me nothing?"

This she couldn't deny, for Sydney knew better then to argue with her father over that. So he knew something was up, she thought she could hide her emotions better then that. Then again, she had never been able to hide much from him.

"Sloane called."

It was short and straight to the point, making it easier for him to understand. She could see his face tighten at the mention of the man's name.

"Just now?"

Sydney nodded in response to his question. Neither of them liked the idea that Sloane was feeling free-spirited enough to call her. That meant something was definitely going his way, even if she wasn't dead.

"What did he say?"

She didn't have to think very long or hard before his words came rushing back to her head.

"He's still trying to get me dead, except when he can't do it by force, he tires to make me a business deal."

Jack seemed rather disgusted by this and so Sydney avoided the details of the arrangement. Only Sloane would try to make a deal to get someone dead.

"What were the terms?"

She cringed, knowing he wouldn't want to hear them. For his despite his rough exterior, Jack cared greatly for his two daughters, and having either of them dead wouldn't go over too well.

"In exchange for my dead body, he's willing to cure Abby's condition."

Jack quickly shook his head and Sydney agreed with him, for once. They couldn't kill her, but maybe someone who looked like her?

"What about the helix process?"

Sydney paused for a minute, thinking about whether that would work or not. Who would be willing to give their life for her? Vaughn maybe, but she'd never let him do it. Perhaps someone that was already dead could be used. Still, they had a large problem to deal with. The helix process had been missing for several years and finding it wouldn't be easy. Dr. Helix, the found of the process, had hidden it upon realizing what he'd created. Sydney agreed with his decision. Something that could take the DNA of one person and turn a whole new person into the first person was far to dangerous to be kept out in the open. But Dr. Helix could have hidden it anywhere.

"We'd have to find it first."

Jack frowned, mulling over the problem already himself.

"I'll ask around my contacts and see if they've heard anything. Until then, I want you to stay here with Abby. She can't be out of your sight. I don't trust Sloane's word."

Sydney nodded in understanding, looking quickly at Abby before back at Jack again. Sloane would most likely try something, but she wouldn't let him.

"I don't either. He said he'd call me around this time tomorrow expecting an answer. Say yes?"

The idea struck her like lightning when she realized what she would be telling him. That her dead body would be delivered to him and Abby would be cured. Would he really think she was dead, or would he suspect that she would try and fool him? He was smart enough to see through her plan, so Sydney knew they'd have to be extremely careful if this was to work. Jack nodded gruffly, looking as though he'd been thinking along the same lines as her.

"That's the only way our plan will have a chance to work."

So it had to happen then, Sydney didn't have a choice anymore. Sighing she looked towards Abby, though her words were still directed at her father.

"Ok well, call me if you hear anything."

With one more simple nod of understanding he turned and moved towards the door, letting himself out. Sydney returned herself to that same chair beside her sister's bed. Abby wasn't even very involved in this job yet and she was already being used as bait. Sydney had worked so hard to talk her sister out of joining APO but Abby wouldn't listen. It was what she'd been born to do, and of course, being raised by Irina Derevko certainly didn't help. And now look where that stubbornness had gotten her. Sydney knew though that she really wasn't one to talk. She'd done the same thing when Jack had tried to talk her of it. They had both been stubborn and suffered for their choices. Feeling a wave of heat come over her she stood and walked to the bathroom. Cold water splashed over her face and she felt much better after a few minutes of cooling off. She was drying her hands off when the click of the door could be heard. Sydney stayed where she was for the moment, listening for another noise. When she didn't heart anything she poked her head out of the bathroom, eyes seeking whoever had opened the door. A grey haired man sat with his back to her in one of the chairs beside Abby's bed. Sydney's blood boiled at the sight and she took a few steps into the room.

"You've got a lot of nerve coming here."


End file.
